chanukkah. lights within and without.

The menorah ablaze in full glory is an expression of the light in my heart, your heart and everyone's everywhere.

okay, so, here's a question. why do we celebrate the first day of chanukkah, not 8th day? here's what comes to me. it takes a lot of guts and faith to start lighting menorah with just one day of oil while more oil won't be available in another 8 days. just to refresh, the main thrust of chanukkah story is this. menorah in temple was lit 24/7. so when people reclaimed temple they wanted to get menorah lit up asap. there was one day of oil on hand. btw this oil was prepped from fresh olives in a certain method. it's an 8 day process. so, to light or not to light? evidently the people did.  what a remarkable leap of faith. indeed this teaches me that i can only keep my eye on doing the right thing, however you call it, dharma in sanskrit, tsedek in hebrew, it's the same thing.  lighting up menorah is the right thing to do. just do it. start doing the right thing with whatever i have. let go of worry. that's poverty consciousness. i show up, do what i can and let grace takes it from there. in bhagavad gita lord krishna says to arjuna, yoga is skill in action. it really just means throw yourself into the task at hand and let go of expectation of outcome.  such ancient wisdom still shines bright of truth. how lucky we are to have such guiding light 24/7. halleluja.

i am a latkes, ayurveda way

when i realize we’ll be traveling during chanukah, the eight day jewish celebration of light and rededication, i think, o no, i’ll miss latkes and lighting the candles. well, that’s what i think. 

so, here’s a shout out to joseph, a thoughtful young man. when he hears hwubby and i are going to be in india during chanukah he immediately asks, in his pure, kind voice, are you going to light the menorah? hwubby pauses and says, uuuh, i don’t know how we can take the menorah. keep in mind that every jewish home keeps at least one menorah and most of them are not small or travel-friendly. i can guarantee that. anyway, back to joseph. he is quick. not missing a beat he says, you can get a travel menorah. gee, we didn’t think of that. and that’s what hwubby got. a mini menorah that comes with 44 mini candles. 

it so happens hwubby and i are on different panchakarma schedules. for instance, i drink ghee for three days and he for seven. why drink ghee? to dislodge and float toxins. physical toxins, say, from eating incompatible foods. emotional toxins, say, from holding on to resentment, guilt, worrying, you get the drill. it can be a long menu. then it’s onto the next step, to draw them into the intestines. then what? what else but out. and that’s really the core meaning of panchakarma, cleansing actions.

anyhow, back to chanukah in the ayurveda healing village. for the first few nights we light the candles in our room because by the time we both finish our treatments it’s past sundown and we are advised to stay indoors. but we really want to light the candles in the hall with everybody during the daily program. finally our unwavering wish bears fruit. on the fourth day of chanukah we both are bathed and refreshed before the program begins at sundown. we ask dr ramkumar if we could share the ritual with everybody. he is overjoyed. he says, that’s exactly what he wants this place to be, a place where people of all spiritual traditions can freely worship. this cool guy truly takes the meaning of healing village to the sublime level.

i look around me after the candles are lit. what do i see? one big family of shining faces. we all have the same smile, same devotion, same light. indeed we are all of the same light source.

as it turns out, during this period i have this treatment, for seven days, where they pour very warm oils all over me. lots of oil. pots of oil. i feel like a bright and beautiful latkes. in the words of our dear friend carmen, you have all the oils to make enough latkes for the whole world. really, i haven’t missed anything. rather, i have gained so much by realizing that there is this fascinating connectedness permeating everything. i can see it in everyone, everywhere when i keep the mind clear and open. 

our inner selves are made of light

hwubby makes a video of me lighting the menorah on the eighth day of chanukkah.
 
http://gallery.me.com/egbdf/100000

he sends it to the family. his brother calls and leaves a msg. he and and his wife watch the video with their baby girl, meme. then meme starts to imitate me. i say, i want to see a video of that.

babies are pure lights. they are naturally drawn towards lights. but, really, that's what our inner selves do. our inner selves love to be around people who shine because lights are what our inner selves are made of. we are beings of light.

the shamus within. happy chanukkah

the sixth night of chanukkah is approaching. i am coming to appreciate the timeless wisdom in this practice of lighting yet another candle as the days go on. flame by flame, day by day, i gather the sense of building a brighter light and with that ever growing faith and trust in my own flame within. on the fourth night i was by myself. i turn off all other external light source after i kindled the shamus, the center light. i see the darkness around me diminish rapidly with another candle lit. when all are burning bright i experience one light. there is no difference between the brightness within and that without. the practice of lighting the candles helps me see the inner light, the flame which is sustained by none other than my supreme inner self. the shamus within is always there to offer protection from darkness.

happy chanukkah to all. may we be the light. may the light be us.

what is the real chanukkah miracle?

on the way home after the best ever chanukkah party with our fellow congregants hwubby says, i think the real miracle is recognizing what we have is enough.

a new tradition is born. happy chanukkah.

come to the first night of chanukkah after a day of busy airport, full flight, stormy weather. i look at the low, dark sky. i can see the old habitual tendency that drags the body and mind to go down lurking in the periphery of consciousness.